Frommer's San Francisco 2012 - Matthew Poole [235]
The tour’s only downside: The long hours tired some campers. “Who wouldn’t cut off their left pinky for an extra hour of sleep tomorrow morning?” one man commented on the bus after the second dinner, close to midnight.
But it's clear that the itinerary is packed to give customers their money's worth. Of course, it's also in the tourism board's interests to show off the best of Sonoma—they do, and you benefit at every turn. If they were secretly trying to convince us all to move to Sonoma to make wine, I was sold. No, really: In 2011 I moved from New York to San Francisco.
Grape Camp is held at the end of September, with varying dates and itinerary stops. Rates are $1,750 per person (with $150 single supplement fee). Optional third-night stay and lavish group dinner with a winemaker are $250 and $125 extra, respectively. Visit www.sonomagrapecamp.org or contact Larry.Levine@sonomagrapecamp.com for more details.
—Stephen Bassman
Touring the Sonoma Valley & Wineries
Sonoma Valley is currently home to about 45 wineries (including California’s first winery, Buena Vista, founded in 1857) and 13,000 acres of vineyards. It produces roughly 76 types of wines, totaling more than five million cases a year. Unlike the rigidly structured tours at many of Napa Valley’s corporate-owned wineries, on the Sonoma side of the Mayacamas Mountains tastings are usually low-key and tours free.
The towns and wineries covered below are organized geographically from south to north, starting at the intersection of Hwy. 37 and Hwy. 121 in the Carneros District and ending in Kenwood. The wineries tend to be a little more spread out here than they are in Napa Valley, but they’re easy to find. Still, it’s best to decide which wineries you’re most interested in and devise a touring strategy before you set out, so you don’t do too much backtracking.
I’ve reviewed some of my favorite Sonoma Valley wineries here—more than enough to keep you busy tasting wine for a long weekend. If you’d like a complete list of local wineries, be sure to pick up one of the free guides available at the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau (see “Visitor Information,” above).
For a map of the wineries below, please see “The Wine Country” map.
THE CARNEROS DISTRICT
As you approach the Wine Country from the south, you must first pass through the Carneros District, a cool, windswept region that borders San Pablo Bay and marks the entrance to both the Napa and Sonoma valleys. Until the latter part of the 20th century, this mixture of marsh, sloughs, and rolling hills was mainly used as sheep pasture (carneros means “sheep” in Spanish). However, after experimental plantings yielded slow-growing, high-quality grapes—particularly chardonnay and pinot noir—several Napa and Sonoma wineries expanded their plantings here. They eventually established the Carneros District as an American Viticultural Appellation, a legally defined wine-grape growing area. Although about a dozen wineries are spread throughout the region, there are no major towns or attractions—just plenty of gorgeous scenery as you cruise along Hwy. 121, the major route between Napa and Sonoma.
It’s not just the grapes: Steve Sangiacomo discusses how competing winemakers use the same grapes to produce very different wines.
Viansa Winery and Italian Marketplace ★ A sprawling, and extremely romantic, Tuscan-style villa sitting atop a knoll overlooking the entire lower valley, Viansa is the brainchild of Sam and Vicki Sebastiani, who left the family dynasty to create their own temple to food and wine. (Viansa is a contraction of “Vicki and Sam.”) Here you’ll find gorgeous views along with a large room crammed with a cornucopia of high-quality mustards, olive oils, pastas, salads, breads, desserts, Italian tableware, cookbooks, and wine-related gifts, and tasting opportunities.
The winery, which does extensive